[quote]GhostOD wrote:
I still don’t even look like I lift weights. [/quote]
I think this is where good old fashioned bodybuilding training has a place. I started on that end of the spectrum… I look like I lift weights but my numbers are shit compared to most of you guys.
just about 7 years since I quit smoking at 41 and 160ish skinny-fat …6 years since I joined local Y at about 190 skinny-fat/ter…so about 5 years of real lifting…never touched a barbell before that .
I recall asking for a spot with 120 loaded on the bench , and missing the 5th rep .
I remember doing rack-pulls in the neighborhood of 185 …FUCKING RACK PULLS !
I found a journal entry for “box squats” that start at 90 x 5 and goes to 130 x 5 . but the box was only for checking depth , not used like real box-squats . so thats a definite sub 200 1RM .
and I remember last sets of DB press being around 40 lbs…for 5 reps .
best bench is 240 , squat 365 , and dead 385 . last year was not good at all . Im at 193 now , but my chest is thicker than my belly ( I think )…which was not the case when I started at 190 .
I tell ya , I was so freakin sub-conscious when I started I wanted to puke . thats the toughest part when starting out extremely weak ; and I would bet thats the reason why most folks quit…they cant handle the fact that they suck that bad , and that the time required to fix this ia waaaaay too long . that first year was total shit . but eventually I hit that 185 bench , and the 315 pull and squat . the 405 pull was very close when my first and only injury occured (hernia) , so now Im gettin back on track .
looks as though I babbled a bit
carry on
I remember how proud I was after I hit my first 135 bench and finally weighed 150 lbs. That was back in 2009 and I was 14 at the time. Oh how far I have come.
Trust me, man. Once you’ve been training for about a year, look back on where you started, you will be amazed at how far you’ve come. My numbers haven’t changed much in the last year due to a shit load of injuries, but I guarantee that by this time next year, I’ll be so much stronger and be able to look back on it with a feeling of self satisfaction and accomplishment. I suppose training with Ed Coan helps a bit, too.
CS
I am just gonna put this here, 18 years old (in the middle with the afro, no, I am not jewish), had not done crap for a while…maybe a 135 bench, couldnt care less bout squatting, had never deadlifted…
…and end with this picture from tonight.
All time bests:
Single Ply - 700lb squat, 455lb bench, and 655lb deadlift
Raw - 550lb squat (not tested in a year and half), 405lb bench, and 615lb deadlift
EDIT - weighed prob round 220 in the first picture, round 260 in the second, and fun fact, I am wearing the same shirt in both pictures.
Started out 3 years ago (almost exactly)…
185lbs (fat mostly), 5’6":
Squat: 145lbs
Bench: 115lbs
Deadlift: 155lbs
First competition 8 months later weighing 147lbs:
Squat: 303lbs
Bench: 201lbs
Deadlift: 314lbs
Last competition, 162lbs:
Squat: 380
Bench: 271
Deadlift: 479
Now, 170lbs:
Squat: 405lbs
Bench: 255lbs
Deadlift: 425lbs
…really annoyed with the drop in strength.
[quote]DixiesFinest wrote:
…and end with this picture from tonight.
All time bests:
Single Ply - 700lb squat, 455lb bench, and 655lb deadlift
Raw - 550lb squat (not tested in a year and half), 405lb bench, and 615lb deadlift
EDIT - weighed prob round 220 in the first picture, round 260 in the second, and fun fact, I am wearing the same shirt in both pictures. [/quote]
That’s an amazing transformation Dixie… how old are you now?
I’m 31. I started training in 2007, when I was 27. I was 275 pounds and around 50% body fat. My lifts were pathetic. My cardio was pathetic. Ny self-esteem was pathetic. I was in such terrible shape, all I could muster at the gym was 4 sets of an excercise and 8 minutes of light cardio.
Typical gym week in 2007:
Day 1 - Bench Press… 70 lbs x 10 reps x 4, followed by 8 minutes of elliptical
Day 2 - Lat Pull Downs … 65 lbs x 10 reps x 4, maybe 15-20 minutes on the recumbent cycle (LOL, does that thing get used by anyone on T-Nation?)
Days 3,4,5 - 8-15 minutes of light cardio
Days 6,7 - rest
I could bench about 115, squat 90 and deadlift about 135.
I did about 2 years of mostly cardio and then started lifting body builder syle in 2009. In 2010, I realized I disliked body builder workouts and followed these programs from 2010 to 2011:
Now I’m kinda doing my own thing, but I expect to do 5/3/1 Boring but Big this fall.
Here’s my last workout (Yesterday). You’ll excuse the extra mark-up, it’s a copy and paste off fitocracy, where I do my logging:
Clean and Press:
45 lb x 10 reps (+28 pts)
65 lb x 8 reps (+39 pts)
85 lb x 6 reps (+48 pts)
115 lb x 5 reps (+64 pts)
135 lb x 5 reps (+75 pts)
Barbell Squat:
45 lb x 10 reps (+24 pts)
95 lb x 10 reps (+50 pts)
135 lb x 10 reps (+72 pts)
225 lb x 5 reps (+105 pts)
285 lb x 2 reps (+121 pts)
305 lb x 2 reps (+130 pts)
Barbell Deadlift:
225 lb x 5 reps (+105 pts)
285 lb x 3 reps (+125 pts)
295 lb x 3 reps (+129 pts)
315 lb x 2 reps (+134 pts)
345 lb x 1 reps (+142 pts)
225 lb x 1 reps (+93 pts)
Barbell Bench Press:
45 lb x 12 reps (+25 pts)
95 lb x 15 reps (+57 pts)
135 lb x 10 reps (+72 pts)
185 lb x 5 reps (+86 pts)
225 lb x 1 reps (+93 pts)
Pull-Up:
6 reps (+43 pts)
5 reps (+34 pts)
4 reps (+25 pts)
4 reps (+25 pts)
…reps are low because I went from locked arms to sternum touching the bar.
Machine Dips:
100 lb x 10 reps (+13 pts)
120 lb x 10 reps (+16 pts)
140 lb x 6 reps (+16 pts)
150 lb x 5 reps (+17 pts)
…dip station not available. Used a machine.
I have progress pics of all of this, but in truth it hardly matters. The point is, I was probably the most pathetic, out of shape loser you’ve ever met and it got started with 4 sets of bench (in which I used my shoulders, btw), and 8 minutes of elliptical, 7 years after my “peak” muscle building years and I did OK.
So if you put in the work, you can do “OK” also.
[quote]Ghost16 wrote:
[quote]DixiesFinest wrote:
…and end with this picture from tonight.
All time bests:
Single Ply - 700lb squat, 455lb bench, and 655lb deadlift
Raw - 550lb squat (not tested in a year and half), 405lb bench, and 615lb deadlift
EDIT - weighed prob round 220 in the first picture, round 260 in the second, and fun fact, I am wearing the same shirt in both pictures. [/quote]
That’s an amazing transformation Dixie… how old are you now? [/quote]
23
[quote]Kardash wrote:
Huge bump, since I haven’t been on T-Nation for quite a while… but thank’s guys for all the positive feedback! It’s nice to see that not everybody starts out squatting 400 pounds, contrary to what the internet makes us believe (:[/quote]
Nobody starts out squatting 400.
Did manual labor from the time I was 12 on
Started lifting when I was 14 Benched 210 the first time I maxed weighing 205
Didn’t max my squat or deadlift for first 9 months
Squatted 350 to a legitimate depth when I turned 15
Deadlifted 405 the first time I tried it in a truly horrific display.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/5294_1145850259299_1618814572_411479_6501715_n.jpg
From that 205 6,1
I’m 22 I weigh 250-260 most of the time I’m 6,1
I just paused 415 close grip. Benched 555X1 in a loose single ply
Best Squat belt and sleeves 535X2
Best Deadlift 645X1 Raw 675X1 hitched as fuck 685X1 Suited 700X1 suited/hitched
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/409500_10151141829790538_671380537_22157125_981186695_n.jpg
To this 2 weeks ago. 262 6,1
After seeing where alot of you started on this thread, Im slightly more hopeful for myself. Many of you have gotten pretty strong in a rather short amount of time.
I guess I’ll play
I had pretty much never touched a weight until I graduated college. I played Soccer throughout Middle and High-school and breakdanced (yeah, you read that right) from High School through College. Where did that leave me? I was a pretty flexible and “ripped” 160 lb-er that could spin on his head, do many a handstand push-up and pullups with a pretty big work capacity (when I danced it was usually 2 hours sessions) but that was about it. I am 5’10" so you can say I was a small guy.
I graduated in March 2009 and since I lost access to the school gym where we used to dance, I decided I needed a new hobby. First time I walked into a gym was April 1, 2009 so I am nearing the 3 year mark.
At that 160 lbs bodyweight my starting points at that time were something like this:
Bench 165 lbs
Deadlift 225 lbs
Squat 180 lbs
I just lifted weights and was interested in bodybuilding and just getting big for my first 2 years and didn’t start powerlifting until about a year ago.
Currently, I sit at 235 lbs (75 lbs gain in a little less than 3 years, not too much of it chub either) and my lifts are:
Bench 295 lbs raw in competition, 315 in gym
Deadlift: 465 raw in competition (haven’t tested since but I’d guess I am ~500 / 500+ by now)
Squat: 385 in gym about 8 months ago, have concentrated on push-pull since then pretty much. No clue what it is currently.
That’s about it. I am starting to figure out what works for me and have been getting good results for the past months. We’ll see where it goes…
I started lifting almost 9 years ago and was always skinny (competed in martial arts so I always had to cut weight to be in lighter weight classes). I figured I was done with that stage in my life and wanted to lift weights and get bigger/stronger. I couldn’t even bench 115 for reps, I actually remember completely failing on a set and had to drop the weight to the side and crawl out from under it.
At that time I was 150:
Squat - didn’t do them, thought leg presses were enough for me
Bench - couldn’t do 115 for more than 8 reps
Deadlift - didn’t know how to do them, so I just used the trap bar
Currently weighing in at 195, turning 30 this year (completely raw, no belt):
Squat - 475x1
Bench - 365x1
Deadlift - 495x1
I have to say that I made some very good gains my first 2-3 years of training, then I messed up my shoulder and was never able to recover from the strength loss and pretty much stalled out for the next 3 years. I’ve finally been able to get to a point I never thought I would have been able to reach when I first started out. Needless to say, it’s a slow and steady progress for me.
[quote]lumbahjack wrote:
After seeing where alot of you started on this thread, Im slightly more hopeful for myself. Many of you have gotten pretty strong in a rather short amount of time.[/quote]
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Weighed 100 lb. when I got married at 23. Had been a life-long nonathlete.
[/quote]
hmm a like how this thread paints an honest picture of the hard work people have been doing. When someone in the gym tells me my deads/squats are impressive my first response is to say I’ve been working on them for 7 years 5-10 hours a week. Anyone can reach that level with the same dedication.
Started lifting I was 25, trying to lose weight after getting married. Got hooked on the thrill of bigger numbers soon after.
weight: sloppy 135
bench: 75lbs
squat: quarter squated 65lbs
deads: no freakin clue what those were.
today: 32yrs old, weight 155
bench: 155
squat: 225 x2
deads: 305
started powerlifting last year after a suggestion from some people in TN and really enjoying it.
Started out June '10.
Bench: IDR
Squat: I started those in '11
Deadlift 250x3, 280x1.
When I started I was quite similar to you in terms of height and weight etc.
I was 18, 6’2" and just over 80kg (175lbs).
Bench: 50kg (110lb) 5x5
Deadlift: 80kg (175lbs) 5x5
I didn’t start squatting for about a year and so had bulked up to 90kg by then and I only managed 80kg (175lb) x1 then!
So I know how you feel about being insecure about it. I felt so weak back then and, looking on here, I still do.
But having said that I improved at an ok rate:
Bench has exactly doubled to 100kg (220lbs) 5x5 - 1rm last week was 120kg (265lbs)
Deadlift is now 140kg (310lbs) 3x3 but thats despite a back injury a year ago and only 2 months consistant deadlifting since then.
Anyway coming on this site always makes me feel weak but that’s because you only hear about the lifts of the strongest 0.0001% of the world population. Your lifts put you well above average and if you stick with it you will keep progressing up towards much heavier weights.
Good luck and stick with it!
At your age, for the time you’ve been training, you’re doing great 
Just bear in mind you will need to gain some weight as you are a six footer…
I was about 150LB when I started, and I’m 230LB now! (pic in my training log)
Started when I was 13 (1995) in my basement following Men’s Health routines. I remember curling 10 lb DBs and benching a standard bar with 10s on each side for sets of 10. It was not easy for me at the time. I was a chubby 130 lbs, probably around 5’3".
The first time I started going to a gym (about a year later), I followed some Weider total body routine out of a book. I struggled to bench 65x8. Didn’t squat til I was a sophomore in HS (I was told it would damage my growth plates). Didn’t deadlift til I graduated from college (power cleans for football instead). Didn’t start training seriously for strength in the big 3 until about 5 years ago.
Now I’m 30, 5’9", 240 lbs, and just totaled 1530 (565w/wraps/390/575) in my first raw meet. I totaled 1713 (650/501/562) in the first (and only) single ply meet I did 3 years ago.
